Tradewinds Ushers in a New Era for Order Management with B2B Wave

In 1999, Tradewinds Outdoors Limited set sail to become a distributor of clothing and equipment for those who savor the outdoors and have adventure in their heart.

From humble beginnings in the market town of Faversham, Kent, as a supplier of South African sandals, the company has evolved into a premier distributor and retailer of high-end, high-quality outdoor clothing and equipment. With a catalog boasting over twenty-five brands, including Redback Boots, the company’s top seller, and Barmah Hats, Tradewinds is the ultimate resource for outdoor and bushcraft enthusiasts.

For a company growing with force, B2B Wave’s modular eCommerce platform enables Tradewinds to streamline its order and inventory management and processes.  

Challenge

As Tradewinds expanded its horizons by selling directly to consumers through Shopify, the need for a robust, all-encompassing B2B order and inventory management system to support its wholesale distribution operations around the UK and the world became paramount.

And at first, they thought they had found it. But seamless or suitable it was not. Initial attempts with CloudCommerce Pro proved unsuccessful, prompting the search for a different solution. The team soon switched to Veeqo for their stock and shipping management, which also provided a B2B ordering solution but didn’t allow customers to have self-service capabilities. The Tradewinds team had to process all orders on the software’s backend for customers instead of enabling them to submit them online.

“We wanted to do exactly what [B2B Wave] was, which was an online stop for asset buyers, for our resellers,” says Max Thorpe, Logistics Coordinator at Tradewinds.

At the end of the day, no system could do it all.  

Solution

Enter B2B Wave. Chosen initially for its seamless order management functionalities, B2B Wave’s modular setup won the team over. The platform seamlessly integrated with Shopify and accounting systems, allowing Tradewinds to launch its new online B2B store quickly by November 2022.

The team decided on a soft rollout to accommodate customers’ unique preferences and tech-savviness. So, for legacy customers, the Tradewinds team leveraged B2B Wave’s import functionalities for mass order uploads.

On the other end, less tech-resistant and new customers have taken to the platform to effortlessly get their orders online to Tradewinds, eliminating unnecessary steps. Tradewinds decided to onboard these customers by having them place test orders, simulating the actual ordering process, to familiarize themselves with their new platform. “People are beginning to realize that it’s a much more foolproof way of placing an order and, as a result, are using it much, much more,” Thorpe states. What else inspired them to do so? B2B Wave’s simple, user-friendly interface. Specifically, with its spreadsheet-like appeal and function, the storefront’s product list view has shifted customers towards submitting their orders online.

Beyond order processing, B2B Wave’s features, like status labels, have empowered the company’s daily operations. Tradewinds guarantees its buyers a quick turnaround time by employing status labels to note that specific items are available. At the same time, “Low Stock” labels drive buyers to switch to similar products, allowing the company to keep an excellent customer experience and manage its inventory efficiently, preventing overstocks and stockouts.

Also, the Tradewinds team uses the marketing features their wholesale eCommerce platform offers. “We’re using the banners to give an indication of new stock drops,” Thorpe shares. This way, customers can view which products and styles will soon be available and pre-order them while the company can better plan order fulfillment.

Results

B2B Wave shook up Tradewinds’ operations, saving time, reducing manual work, keeping turnaround times in check, and optimizing inventory management.

Recently, Tradewinds successfully deployed an integration with Veeqo to their wholesale eCommerce platform and can now better process orders and shipments. The company sings the praises of B2B Wave’s responsive support team, which worked closely with them to connect the two apps, making this daunting task an absolute success. “Being one of the first to get set up with this integration was very valuable; I was able to work with the B2B support team to get the functionality we needed built into the integration,” Thorpe discloses.

Now, the company has more resources to focus on solidifying order and inventory management processes. And much like the inquisitive outdoors spirit its mission conveys, the Tradewinds team can explore new workflows and determine what works best for them with B2B Wave’s adaptable solution. Max emphasizes, “In a way, you’re spreading your eggs over more than one basket, and you’re able to change other aspects of the business without having to rewrite the whole playbook. I think that’s the key thing for us because we’re just figuring out how we want to work, and that’s why it’s been so useful.”

Take your wholesale business online with B2B Wave

Tradewinds efficiently streamlined its order management and processing through our sleek storefront template, configurable platform, and powerful integrations. Check out what B2B Wave can do for you, and request a demo with our expert team today